Formation of Isoindole Derivatives of Sulfidopeptide Leukotrienes by Reaction with O-Phthalaldehyde and Separation by Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

A method is described for the formation of fluorescent conjugates of the sulfidopeptide leukotrienes (LTC₄, LTD⁴, and LTE⁴) by reaction of the primary amine moiety of these metabolites with o-phthalaldehyde. Separation of the fluorescent derivatives was achieved by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography in less than 30 minutes using a convex gradient of methanol-50 mM Na Acetate-5% Tetrahydrofuran pH 5.5. Detection limits realized under the conditions described were 0.35 ng, 3.8 ng and 3.7 ng for LTC₄, LTD₄, and LTE₄, respectively. This represents an Increased sensitivity over detection of these metabolites by ultra-violet spectroscopy. The leukotriene-OPA derivatives are fully stable for 50 minutes at 23°C and for at least 4 hours at 0°C. The method is applied to the detection of LTC₄ generated by zymosan stimulated murine peritoneal macrophages.